Who Makes a Guitar Like This?

[averagetom]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

The problem you are going to encounter is one of simple physics. Bass needs to be able to push a larger volume of air for the low frequencies to develop, so the physical size of the guitar will, to an extent, govern how much bass it will produce. A thin body won't necessarily give you that. This isn't set in stone, however, and a smaller and thinner body can produce more bass, but only in relation to the mid-range and trebles which could be a matter of perception of more bass rather than the reality.

As far as physical size is concerned the huge Gibson SJ200, for example, does not produce as much in the way of bass or loudness despite the volume of air it contains, nor what its physical size might suggest. Much of that is due to the wood used in its construction; a rosewood SJ200 produces so much bass that it overwhelms. The more traditional maple model tends to be more biased toward the mids and upper mids and is far better balanced, tonally.

My suggestion? If possible don't limit yourself to physical size and play a few dreadnoughts; in my experience this design produces more bass than any other.

Thank you for the advice, I definitely understand what you're saying. I know I cannot have maximum bass and fullness if I limit the size, but I'm okay with that -- I just want to have a guitar which is balanced, that [if anything] is more comfortable to play than my current dreadnought. The body size is fine, it's the body depth that I would prefer to have a little thinner.

Perhaps I did not do a great job of describing what I want out of the guitar's sound. I should clarify that my description was *relative to body size*, as in a 000 with forward-shifted bracing sounding "bass-y-er" than a 000 with a rear-shifted bracing -- while knowing that both are less "bass-y" than a dreadnought or deep-body 000.

Balance is the number one tonal quality I want to find, and I think I am leaning towards a 000, but I am still considering going the dreadnought route -- I'm not a small guy, so the deep body isn't that uncomfortable, but I certainly like playing my electrics and so a thinner body feels more normal to me. I need to decide for myself what I want more!

Thank you all again for your advice and suggestions, they have been more than helpful. When I eventually make my purchase, perhaps I will put up a "New Guitar Day" post! Until then, I will be around the forum trying to learn whatever I can and watching more YouTube videos and playing more guitars haha. Oh, and watching the classifieds ;-)

P.S. I want to shout-out to my Sony MDR-7506 headphones, without which watching YouTube videos would be a lot less useful. Best $70 you can spend if you are going guitar-shopping, in my humble opinion!

Thanks,
- Tom

[chippygreen]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

It's called a Martin M or 0000 body. Martin's Jumbo is a 0000 with a dreadnought depth.

So, you want a Martin M-36. (Unfortunately they are 2.5 times your budget).

If you are looking at Martin 000-16s then I suggest you also look at a Larrivee OM-03R or OM-40R. These can be had used under $1000.

I was going to suggest the M-36 as well, then saw others beat me to it. If you lurk on Reverb, used models, particularly the pre-2018s with the 1 11/16ths nut - can go for in the $2k range and sometimes lower. There were a bunch not long ago but I see they are all sold now.

Some good opinions here in my original NGD.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=505826&page=1


Update to my last post in the thread - I went back in and cancelled the order for the D-28, and ordered a reimagined M-36. Couldn't be happier.

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by chippygreen

Update to my last post in the thread - I went back in and cancelled the order for the D-28, and ordered a reimagined M-36. Couldn't be happier.

I'm trying to downsize the number of wooden instruments, but the new Reimagined M-36 in Amberburst is about everything I could want in a wooden guitar.